The Hill County Commissioners Court discussed the future of the county’s hotel occupancy tax program during a meeting held Tuesday, February 11.
County Judge Justin Lewis explained that in 2007, a group of Hill County residents worked with the Texas Legislature to get a hotel occupancy tax approved in Hill County. The tax is collected from hotels, motels and those offering short-term rentals through Airbnb and similar platforms in unincorporated areas of the county. The tax proceeds can only be used for economic development efforts that support tourism and lead to “heads in beds” for those renting rooms.
As the number of short-term rentals have increased in recent years, the county contracted with GovOS in 2022 to identify locations that should be paying occupancy taxes.
Lewis explained that GovOS drafts a letter to be sent out to those not paying the tax as required, and it’s the job of the tax assessor/collector’s office to send out the letters and forward information to the county’s delinquent tax attorneys when the taxes remain unpaid. “We’ve previously allocated this to the tax office to collect this, and they have not been willing to do it,” said Lewis.
The judge said that this led to the work falling on the treasurer, but it is not her job and not good practice.
Tami Gardner, who owns several Airbnb properties in the county, spoke to the court and said that she pays her taxes, but it has come to her attention that many in the county are not paying. Gardner said that she would like to see the tax continue and have the county reach out to those not paying it. “We need those dollars,” she said.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Martin Lake commented that the current situation is not fair to those who are paying the tax as required.
“My goal is to try to get this rectified and get people to understand the importance of it,” Lewis said. “It’s not just me crying out and saying there’s a problem here.” The judge said that he has talked to hoteliers across the county and could pack the room with those who have a problem with the situation.
Lewis said that the only budget that includes funding to collect taxes is the tax assessor/collector’s budget, and the court may have to consider taking funds from that budget and coming up with another plan to collect the tax. “I don’t want to have to do that,” he said. “It sounds very inefficient.”
No action was taken, and Lewis said that options are still being explored.
A minor change in language was approved for the county’s recently implemented driveway culvert policy that more clearly states how to obtain an application. Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Holcomb noted that culverts are grandfathered in if they were installed prior to the policy being approved. Lewis agreed, stating, “We’re not trying to make anybody replace a functioning culvert. If there are road upgrades, that might constitute a need for it, but just because your culvert doesn’t have concrete safety ends, there’s no need to worry about that.”
Several items were discussed as the new sheriff’s office administration continues its work at the department.
Commissioners authorized the sheriff’s office to apply for George G. and Alva Hudson Smith Foundation funds to buy new bulletproof vests for deputies. Sheriff Hunter Barnes said that the sheriff’s office is working hard to find grants to fund some of the department’s needs. He said that he has also been approached by a local business owner who wants to make a donation, and any future donations will come before the court. “We are going to be transparent, and we’re going to keep moving forward,” the sheriff said.
The court also approved the purchase of 24 Dell Rugged laptops for sheriff’s office vehicles.
“I know we see the sheriff’s name a lot on here,” Lewis said. “He’s not being irresponsible. He’s got to fix a lot of problems down there.”
Lewis said that this particular issue is because of the computers being out of date and unable to comply with state regulations. Without computers capable of running the latest operating system, the sheriff’s office will be out of compliance and unable to receive grant funds or use necessary law enforcement software.
The cost of the laptops is approximately $80,000, and Lewis said that half of that can be funded through the information technology budget. The other half would come from contingency funds.
The court also approved changing the current telephone service provider at the sheriff’s office to Correct Solutions and changing the tablet services provider to Tech Friends. The sheriff indicated that he will be seeking bids on commissary services at the jail.
A shooting range membership was approved that will allow the sheriff’s office to train deputies.
The range, located in Maypearl, caters to law enforcement and will provide year-round access to the department for $7,400.
The Hill County Juvenile Probation Department’s audit for fiscal year 2024 was observed and recorded by the court. There were no material findings, and the department received an unmodified opinion, indicating that the records are accurate and fairly represent the department’s finances.
Commissioners also approved the department’s annual grant application to be submitted to the governor’s office. The funds pay for the truancy case manager’s salary.
The court approved opening an account with Wells Fargo as part of the road usage agreement with Elewan Pitts Dudik Solar II. The company must put $100,000 in the account to ensure the funds are available to repair any damage to county roads in the project area.
Commissioners declared multiple items surplus or salvage equipment to either be sold or recycled. The county has attempted to sell all items declared salvage in the past, but Lewis said that he had identified an attorney general’s opinion that some items “routinely discarded as waste” can be recycled without going through this process. This will save administrative time on items that no longer have value and are unlikely to be sold.
Old computer equipment was declared salvage to be discarded and will be recycled. Items that the new administration is cleaning out of sheriff’s office facilities were divided into two categories, with some to be sold and others to be recycled. Surplus property to be sold through Kaddatz Auctioneering includes 11 rear Chevy Tahoe seats, three middle consoles for Tahoes and five single seats for Tahoes.
A 2016 Ford transport van with high mileage was also declared surplus property and will be sold through Kaddatz Auctioneering.
An in-budget expenditure was approved for Hill County Emergency Management, which will fund radio system encryption at the sheriff’s office. The cost of $22,822 will be funded in the radio system budget.
Commissioners also approved the annual agreement with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regarding the operation of the county’s child welfare board, approved a permit for Rise Broadband to install underground fiber cable along HCR 3102, approved a grant application to fund replacement of end-of-life voter check-in machines, and designated GrantWorks to apply for Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas Water Development Board.
Commissioners were expected to meet in a special session Tuesday morning, February 18, to discuss a change to the sheriff’s office career advancement plan, consider an agreement for sharing traffic video with the Texas Department of Transportation, observe and record the Community Supervision and Corrections Department’s audit and consider a preliminary plat.
The Lakelander 